Double R rookie aiming high

Karl Massaad is looking to finish in the top five of the British Formula 4 championship in his debut season. The Lebanese driver joins Double R Racing for his first year in car racing, and has already set his aims high.

Massaad, who has only had a handful of days testing the car and no previous single seater experience, comes to the British F4 championship after a series of titles in karting.

“Being my first year in cars, I want to get up to speed as quickly as possible and hopefully push for the top five in the championship,” he said. “That would be amazing.

“For sure, I want to try to take two or three podiums and then my aim is to try to move into F3 the year after. I’ve only had six days of testing so far, but it’s gone quite well and I’m confident for the season.”

It’s a high aim for a driver only just making their single seater debut, but the 18-year-old has already shown potential in preseason testing. Earlier this month, Massaad finished inside the top 10 in the first test of the year at Oulton Park, less than half a second behind teammate Linus Lundqvist.

“Karl is a mature and smart driver, and certainly has the potential to go a long way in single-seater racing from what we have seen so far,” said team principal Anthony Hieatt. “He’s only had a very limited amount of time in the car up to now, but has made significant progress.”